Intro to Slap in 7 Days
Get a crash course in essential slap bass technique.
Late beginners
Ready to add a fresh injection of groove to your playing? This class gives you the tools to start slapping with confidence.
7 days
Work step by step with Nick Cisneros as you explore essential slap techniques and apply them in guided music-first exercises and jams.
Funk up your playing
You’ll leave this class with a solid foundation of slap skills that'll set you up for more complex and expressive bass playing.
Take the next step
Once you build your funk foundation, keep grooving with intermediate Learning Pathways and challenges.
What you'll learn
In this challenge, you'll build a rock-solid slap bass foundation and learn how to blend it into your existing playing style.
- Learn how to slap tasetfully
- Improve your coordination and timing
- Inject rhythmic funk and flair into your basslines
Curriculum
Stay focused with this step-by-step learning program designed by our expert team of music educators.
Your guided challenge
In this 7-day challenge, funk specialist Nick Cisneros will walk you through the essentials of slap bass. You’ll start with the absolute basics of how to build proper technique and build up your foundation with expressive techniques By the end of this challenge, you’ll have a brand new skill under your built with the tools to start crafting your own funky basslines.
Core technique
To kick off the challenge, Nick will guide you through the core mechanics of slap and pop. You’ll lock in your thumb technique, then add the finger pluck to bring snap and attitude to your lines.
These two lessons lay the groundwork for everything that follows while helping you sidestep common beginner mistakes.
Building groove
Next, you’ll expand your toolkit with octaves and simple grooves. Nick will show you how to double your sound with octave shapes, then combine slap and pop into full basslines.
By the end of these lessons, you’ll be building authentic slap grooves that you can show off at your next jam session.
Adding flair
With your slap foundation established, Nick will show you how to add flair and fluidity to your slap playing.
Day 5 introduces ghost notes for subtle percussive texture, while Day 6 focuses on legato techniques like hammer-ons and pull-offs to smooth out your lines.
Tying it all together
On the final day of the challenge, you’ll bring all your new skills together in a full slap package. Nick will challenge you with grooves that combine slaps, pops, ghost notes, and legato into one cohesive style.
From there, you’ll put your foundation to the test with three slap-focused performance pieces designed to solidify your technique and showcase your progress.
Days 1-2. Slap foundations
Tackle the core tenets of slap bass playing.
You’ll kick off the challenge by locking in the fundamentals of slap bass. These first two lessons focus on proper technique so you can build a strong foundation and avoid common bad habits.
Day 1. Thumb slap fundamentals: Learn the mechanics behind the iconic slap sound. Nick will guide you through half-, quarter-, and 16th-note slaps, plus a jam session to get the groove into your body.
Day 2. The finger pluck: Add snap and attack to your playing with the pluck. You’ll practice plucking quarter, 8th, and 16th notes before combining it with your slap in another jam session.
Days 3-4. Building groove
Work on integrating the box shapes then get creative with them.
In these next two lesson days, you’ll build on your foundation by exploring octaves and simple grooves. Nick will show you how to expand your sound and start crafting basslines that feel musical and funky.
Day 3. All about octaves: Double your notes for extra depth and funk. You’ll learn how to grab octave shapes across the neck and apply them in quarter-, 8th-, and 16th-note exercises before locking it in with a jam.
Day 4. Building simple grooves: Put it all together with groove-focused lines. Nick will guide you through root-and-octave progressions, rhythmic variations, and double plucks to help you start creating authentic slap grooves.
Days 5-6. Adding flair
Learn expressive skills to polish your slap playing.
Next, we'll put the cherry on top of your funk sundae. These lessons introduce techniques that take your playing from good to great.
Day 5. Ghost notes: Learn how to add percussive thumps that spice up your lines without overpowering the groove. You’ll practice ghosted quarter-, 8th-, and 16th-note patterns before experimenting with your own rhythms in a jam.
Day 6. Legato techniques: Discover how to make your lines flow with hammer-ons and pull-offs. Nick will show you how to add these techniques to your slap patterns, helping you play faster and smoother while keeping the groove relaxed.
Day 7 and performances
Cap off the class with a final lesson and performance pieces to tie everything together.
You’ll finish the challenge by combining everything you’ve learned into a complete slap package. This final lesson pushes you to integrate all the techniques into musical grooves before applying them in full songs.
Day 7. The full slap package: Put slaps, pops, ghost notes, and legato together in Latin-flavored grooves. You’ll tackle progressively trickier exercises and a final jam that ties all your skills into one cohesive style.
Performance pieces: After completing the lessons, you’ll test your new skills with three slap-focused songs. From funk-inspired lines to alt-rock crunch and Primus-style grooves, these pieces will cement your foundation and give you material to keep practicing beyond the challenge.
FULL REFUND, NO QUESTIONS ASKED
Improve your playing or get your money back
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Frequently asked questions
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